Culture, cuisine of subcontinent on display at annual festival

PEORIA — The riverfront was a bit more colorful than usual Saturday, thanks to the 14th annual India Fest. With bright sari gowns worn by many women and bold sherwani robes worn by some men, the dozens in attendance were dropped into the middle of Indian culture.

With the hot blazing sun bearing down on everyone, many were looking for something to cool them down. That’s where food and beverage vendors stepped in.

Under the cover of a tent, Caterpillar employees who were part of the Caterpillar Asian Indian Community were dishing out Indian cuisine covered in a rainbow of ingredients.

Many attendees walked around and checked out various clothing items and pieces of jewelry for sale with a bowl of bhel puri in their hands. The mixture of cool puffed rice and dozens of vegetables, spices and sauces created what many people said was a savory taste.

“The bhel puri is really popular. The dahi puri is actually do-it-yourself. People love that, too,” said Paroma Banerjee, an engineer at Caterpillar. Customers could fill shells of deep-fried, unleavened bread with a multitude of ingredients. “It’s like the taste of India in Peoria.”

The festival, however, sought to do more than just fill stomachs. “The whole festival, I think, is a great way to spread something specific to one culture to other cultures,” Banerjee said.

Other vendors were doing just that. Rishab Arora was standing in a tent selling items from his mother’s business, Silk Route. A table in front of him displayed dozens of trinkets that varied from tiny elephants made of various metals to orange and black silk scarves.

“We usually take trips to India, or get stuff shipped to us,” Arora, 17, of Peoria said. Arora was born in New Delhi but has lived in Peoria since he was 1 year old. “But we’ve been here at the festival since it started.”

“It’s been almost 15 years since we first started coming here,” Vijeyata Arora, Rishab’s mother, said. “It’s a good way to share Indian culture. It’s proven to be more and more popular each year. People get to know who you are and what you’re selling. It’s a connection that came from this festival.”

Customers of all colors came to check out the intricately detailed items for sale in their tent. While the festival allowed the Aroras to sell items, the connection they have created with the Peoria community has become more than a commercial relationship.

“Peoria, it’s been embracing and loving to us since we first moved here,” Vijeyata Arora said. “I don’t even think of myself as an Indian, but as a member of this community.”

Page 2 of 2 - Zach Berg can be reached at zberg@pjstar.com or 686-3257. Follow him on Twitter @ZacharyBerg.